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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/26/1990CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF CITY PLANNING COMMISSION FEBRUARY 26~ 1880 The Planning,Commission of the City of Diamond Bar convened in a regular session at 7;00 p.m. in the Walnut Valley School District Board Meeting Room, 888 South Lemon Street, Walnut, California. PRESENT: 5 COMMISSIONERS: 8rothe, Lin, Kane, ViceCha irman Harmony, and Chairman Gohey ABSENT: 8 COMMISSIONERS ALSO PRESENT: Andrew V. Arcaynehi, City Attorney Bill Curley, Assistant City Attorney Dennis Tarongo, Acting Planning Director Robert Searcy, Assistant Planning Director Dawn Anderson, Planning Technician MINUTES: � Chairman Gchay asked the Commission to consider the Minutes of ` February 12" 1990. Motion was made by Commissioner Kane and seconded by Commissioner �8r#the to approve the minutes. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. ` ] MATTERS FROM THE PUBLIC: � � There were none. � CONSENT CALENDAR: ^ Motion was made by Commissioner Qrothe and seconded by Vice ` Chairman Harmony to approve the consent calendar. MOTION CARRIED 1 unanimously. � l Motion was made by Commissioner Kane and seconded by Commissioner j Lin to hear Item No. V before Item No. IV on the Agenda. MOTION CARRIED unanimnualy. | ^ � APPROVAL �� RESOLUTIONS:' ] 1. Conditional Use Permit 89257, 1220 South Brea Canyon Road, � Diamond Bar Friends Church, Private School. � .� '~ Mr. Arczynski stated that there was going to be a minor change to both resolutions in that they will reflect that this is a recommendation from , the Planning Commission, to the City Council at this time. Motion was made by a Commissioner and seconded by Vice Chairman Harmony to approve Resolution for CUP 89257. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. 2. Conditional Use Permit 89417, 21323 Cold Springs Lane, complete Pet Care Center. Motion was made by Commissioner Kane and seconded by Commissioner Grothe 'to approve Resolution for CUP 89417. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 1. Zone Change/Conditional Use Permit 87453, a request for zone change from CPD (Commercial -Planned Development) to C-3 (Unlimited Commercial) with a Conditional Use Permit application to allow for a fully automated car wash with related services (detail shop, accessory sales) on 1 acre, located at 3100 South Diamond Bar Boulevard at the southeasterly corner,of Diamond Bar Boulevard and Brea Canyon ,Road. Rob Searcy presented the site plan and elevations of the project to the Commission to better illustrate the applicants proposal and the land uses surrounding the site. The site is surrounded by C1, a ;child day-care facility, three (3) gas stations, school site and R1. The General Plan is Urban Single Family Low Density. The project will'be developed on a one (1) acre site which has an open storm drain on the side of the property. There are several single family residences that will be separated from the proposed project by an eight (8' ) foot sound proof block wall . The traffic report suggests that one entrance can only be used for ingress and the other as egress. The project will have to have 24 hour security and an alarm system. The meeting was opened for Public Hearing Bob Bucannon, one of the owners of the project, spoke. The closest car wash for this area is 8 to 10 miles away and he and the other two (2) owners felt that there was a need for a car wash in this area. All of the adjacent corners to this project site are zoned for Commercial. The applicants have attended several Municipal Advisory Committee meetings with the County of Los Angeles, and the applicants represented that at the last meeting they were given authorization to re -zone the property to C3 (Unl'imited commercial). 2 The owners brought an design will look like. intent to be "Country come up with a design artist rendering of what the building Diamond Bar first started out with the Living" and they feel that they have that will reflect this intent. The owners have submitted an extensive sound study. They wi 11 be using the newest models of equipment, which generate much less noise than older models. The sound levels will not be heard 25 feet away from the dryers. They are proposing to put an eight (8') foot high sound wall which will, completely block noise and will probably help reduce traffic noise at the end of the cul-de-sac. Dr. Schmidt, who conducted the sound study, explained the study to the Commission. The,main concern is the noise that is generated from the car wash and how it will affect the surrounding properties. The sound levels are described in two ways, the standard measurement of sound with high scientific calibrated equipment and dba which stands for decibel on an A filter (filter that produces low frequencies). The low frequency noises are usually those noises which we can adapt to and the high frequency noise are those we find irritating and potential-ly harmful. The levels (with all these measures combined) for the site without any traffic, range from 58 to 62 dba with a peak linear of around 74 dba. The study was taken (with traffic) on 3 different days at 3 different times; the dba sound levels go up as high as 82 decibels which is the approximate level which is heard when someone is speaking. The general traffic is averaging around 70 to 75 dba. When traffic noise is added, the sound level may vary up to 20 decibels. Dr. Schmidt found an operating carwash with similar installation to the car wash that they, are proposing to build and studied the sound levels. At the entrance of the car wash there is 82 decibels, which is next to the dryer. Outside, 20 feet from the entrance, it is 73 dba. According to these measurements, the sound wall is more than what is necessary. The sound from the blower unit with the muffler will not be audible or distinguishable from the background and traffic noise. There is no negative acoustic impact to the surrounding properties. Rob Searcy established that there is no other C3 zoning surrounding the site. It is surrounded by R1 (Single Family Residential), Freeway, C1 (Restricted Business), Residential and CPD (Commercial Planned Development). In the C1 and C2 zones (which are more restrictive zones than the proposed zone change to C3) only coin-operated and hand wash car washes are permitted. 3 Members of the Audience in Favor of the Project: Fred Jans, one of the owners, restated that Diamond Bar needs a car wash and that this car wash would enhance the neighborhood. Joe LaRitta, 2546 Sunbright Drive, Diamond Bar, felt that the design would be an attribute to the City and he also felt that Diamond Bar needs a car wash at this location. Gary Zazloff, 20723 Walnut Valley Drive, Walnut, stated that constructing a car wash at this location would be a convenience to him. Members of theAudience Opposed to the Project: Dan Buffington, 2605 Indian Creek, Diamond Bar, was on the Los Angeles County Council when the project was proposed. They were concerned with the traffic more than the noise. As a citizen, he is opposed to the property being re -zoned to C3 because if the car wash did not go in, he was worried about what kind of development could be placed at that location. Albert Alfara, 3750 Castle Rock Road, Diamond Bar, felt that car washes are only made for people who cannot get jobs, criminals and illegals. He would like to see a carwash in Diamond Bar but not at this particular location. He also felt that this development would deface the surrounding properties. He felt that after business hours this use would invite loitering. He also expressed his concern that the type of employees that a car wash would attract would possibly present a danger to the residents, especially their children. Mark Hopper, 1125 Grubstake Drive, Diamond Bar, wasn't in opposition, he arrived late and wanted to clarify, if the zone change to C3 is approved, how this will affect the vacant land located westerly of the site that is owned by the school district and zoned for residential. It was stated that, to staff's knowledge, this property was still owned by the School District and the zoning will not be affected by the proposed zone change. II Archibald Ware, 800 S. Dryander Drive, Walnut, was concerned about the impact that this w i 11 have on the traffic coming off the freeway. He was also upset that he and other residents were not contacted about this project by the applicant prior to the Public Notice sent out by the City Planning Department. 4 Mr Aroz n ki discussed the City policy for notifying the surrounding property owners. There is no legal regulation requiring the applicant to talk to the residents prior to the Public Hearing. Property owners within 700 feet of the project site were notified of the Public Hearing' JohnBrumtar° 4871 Second Street, Yorba Linda, has been in the professional car wash business for 20 plus years. He discussed his opinions about the proposal. He didn't feel that the number of cars allotted for in the stack up area is sufficient and he also had concerns about the vehicles exiting from the facility onto the street. The applicant stated that the requirements from the County were that they provide a turn -out lane and a different light system at that intersection to accommodate better traffic flow conditions. ` The Public Hearing was closed. The Commission discussed this matter among themselves. Motion was made by Chairman Gchey and seconded by Vice Chairman Harmony to deny Zone Change No. 87453 without prejudice. It was determined by the Commission that this ' . project would be inconsistent with, the surrounding zoning and / Community Plan. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. Commission directed staff to draft a resolution for this matter to be presented at the next meeting. 2. Zone Change/Conditional Use Permit 88440, a request for zona change from M1 (Light Manufacturing) to O3 (Unlimited Commercial) with Conditional Use Permit application to allow a three-story hotel of 135 rooms, fast food restaurants (70 seats, 80 seats and 120 seats) and retail shopping (15,000 eq. ft.) located on Brea Canyon Road, east aide, north of the Pomona Freeway and south of Lyoom1ng Road. � Commissioner Qrothe stepped down due to the fact that this project presented a conflict of interest. � Rob Searcy presented the project's site plan and elevations ! � to the Commission to better illustrate the applicants proposal and the land uses surrounding the site. The project is ' proposed on approximately an 8 1/2 aona site. � | 5 The meeting was opened for Public Hearing Ken Spear, 1805 Hickory Tree Lane, Riverside, is the development partner with Cahan Crisell Properties. The project is a mixed use, commercial project, including Marriott's Fairfield Hotel as the anchor tenant. The applicant is requesting a zone change to C3 because it was the only zone that would allow this type of development at the time that they processed this application through the County. They would be willing to adhere to any restrictions that would limit them to this site plan and only these uses. The applicant feels that this is an ideal location for a commercial project because they are bounded by the Freeway, Flood control channel and have very little frontage on Brea Canyon which is a very busy street. They have addressed the concerns of the County departments such as on-site circulation and landscaping. In addition they have hired a company to do an extensive traffic study. Wayne Sant, Representative of the Marriott Corp., represents the Marriott's newest type of hotel, the Fairfield Inn, which is designed to accommodate the business traveler who has a limited traveling budget. The hotel rooms will probably be in the $40 to $50 a night price range. This will be Marriott's fifth Fairfield Inn to open in Southern California. The hotel will be open 24 hours, they will employ a staff of 20 to 30 people, they will have someone at the front desk and an auditor 24 hours a day, they will provide their own security and they are careful who they allow to stay at the hotel in order to protect the quality and the service they offer. Mike McDonald, resident of Diamond Bar, Executive Vice President of California Food Enterprises, operators of Arby's which is one of the proposed tenants of this commercial center, spoke in favor of the project. Rick Silva, Representative of E�l Polla Loco, also one of the proposed tenants, spoke in favor of the project. Bill Wurt, San Clemente, one of the Assistants in charge of the project, felt that based on the cliental that they have put together, the center will be of the highest quality. M Ken Spear explained the traffic study. The three areas that need addressing for this location are as follows: 1) Installation of a signal at the entrance to the development at a location that is a little beyond midway, between Lycoming and the existing freeway off -ramp. This will provide for both right turn and left turn movement out of the center. This is the only point of ingress and egress to the center. At the existing off -ramp signal, they include putting in a right turn only arrow which would facilitate continuous movement off the freeway. 2) There, is sufficient room within the existing right-of-way to re -stripe Brea Canyon to create an additional lane. 3) Install a left turn arrow to facilitate movement to the left at the signal on, Lycoming. All three signals will be synchronized. In summary, he stated that they have been processing this application for the past 1 1/2 years which he feels has given them the time to put together the best possible proposal. They have studied many types of development and the market has dictated to them that the only economically viable development scenario is the one they have presented to the Commission this evening. Chairman Schey asked staff if there was a more restrictive zone that would allow these uses. Rob'Searcy indicated that the C2 zone would permit hotels and fast food restaurants through a Conditional Use Permit. The existing Mi zone does not allow any of these uses. Rob Searcy stated that Mr. Kranzer's, the City Engineer, comments regarding the traffic problem were that according to his review of the traffic studies, this project will not have a negative impact on any of the surrounding streets. His main concern was that it would be beneficial if a shared access could be made with the adjacent property. He addressed the installation of the street lights and re -striping of the lanes to allow left turns. He also mentioned that once Grand Avenue opens up in September, the negative impacts that this project might have would be lessened because more of the traffic will be using Grand Avenue instead of Brea Canyon Road. Members of the Audience in Favor of the Project: There were none 7 '`- Members of the Audience Opposed to the Project: Marilyn Ortez, 20968 North Hampton Street, a 20 year resident of Diamond Bar, feels that they are slowly losing their property value because they are getting cut-off from whet little residential they have surrounding them. She did canvas the area, contacting 25 homes asking their opinions on the proposed project' All were opposed but one and the major reason was the traffic' She was also concerned with the lights that would be shining into the adjacent homes and the noise that would be generated by this center. Sunny Martindale, 1333 Ropidvimw Drive, was concerned with whether all of the proposed restaurants will have e driva- thru. She felt that they had plenty of fast food restaurants in a 2 block radius of the project. She also felt that 4 lights in a 2 block radius was excessive. Claudio Yeager, 807 S. Dryander Drive, was concerned with traffio' Lyoom1ng has a no right turn allowed now, any traffic on Lycoming has to wait to turn right onto Brea Canyon and the traffic coming from the shopping center would congest this even more. She was also concerned with noise and the loss of privacy. Patrons staying on the 2nd or 3rd floors of � the hotel will have a view of the surrounding resident's back � yards. The light that would be shed on the residents from the hotel was also a concern. Joe Hahn, 826 1/2 Silver Fir Rood, Diamond Bar, was concerned � with traffic and also the cliental that this development would � � attract. He was concerned with this hotel inviting truck � . drivere and the problem that would develop from semi -trucks � parking in streets. Janice Roller, Condominiums on W1ndwqod Drive, Diamond Bar, || was concerned with the increase of traffic that this development would create. She also brought up the fact that most employees of these centers park on surrounding streets � so the patrons can have first priority on parking spaces. � This will reduce' available parking places for the surrounding � residents. She voiced a concern for the type of development � that could be put at this location if this project did not go through and the zone was changed to C3. Dan Buffington` 2885 Indian Creek Road, Diamond Bar, was � mainly concerned with the approval of the hotel' He was � concerned that Diamond Bar will become e hotel strip instead of the residential community that it is now. LZI Margaret Alison, 827 Windwood Drive, Diamond Bar, stated that when she bought her condominium 10 years ago, she thought she would be living in a residential community, but she now feels surrounded by commercial development. Roger Yeager, 807 S. Dryander Drive, Diamond Bar, reiterated the concern for privacy, lights shining on the residents and traffic increase. Louey Marshland,'20326 Duarte Drive, Walnut, is the owner of the business that is now at this site and is in favor of this new development. He has stayed involved with the project to a small extent and feel that this kind of development will be beneficial to himself as a resident and to the City. Vice Chairman Harmony asked staff or the applicant to address the issues of privacy and lights shining on the residents. Ken Spear stated that by the positioning of the hotel, they have buffered noise and light that is presently filtering from the freeway. Wayne Sant stated that the approximate height of the windows on the 3rd floor is about 26 feet. They can design the lights so that they shine away from the residential area. Trucks will not be allowed in the parking lot, the hotel is not intended to cater to truck drivers, they have priced the hotel so that truck drivers can not afford it. Their research shows that truck drivers are looking for hotel rooms that are priced between $25 and $30 a night. The hotel does not provide room service nor is there a restaurant associated with it. F Vice Chairman Harmony asked what was the parking requirements for this development. Rob 'Searcy stated that parking requirement for a hotel is I space per guest room, 1 space per suite if hotel has suites instead of guest rooms. The parking requirement for commercial projects is 1 space per 250 square feet for uses such as medical offices, for less intensive retail office it is 1 space per 400 square feet of space. For the restaurants it is 1 space per 3 occupants, occupant determination is made by Building and Safety and is determined by the square footage of the building. According to the site plan that was submitted, the provided parking is adequate, but this would have to be determined by the uses that are put in the retail building. F The Public Hearing was closed. Discussion among the Commission followed. Motion was made by Vice Chairman Harmony and seconded by Commissioner Kane to deny Zone Change/Conditional Use Permit 88440 without prejudice. It was determined by the Commission that this project would be inconsistent with the surrounding zoning and Community Plan. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. 3. Zone Change/Conditional Use Permit. 89555, a zone change from A1-15,000 (Light Agricultural, 15,000 square foot minimum lot size) to C3 -DP -BE (Unlimited Commercial, Development Program, Billboard Exclusion) with a Conditional Use Permit to allow a 100 room motel on 2.3 acres, located at 1035 1/2 Banning Way, bounded by Colima Road on the south, Lemon Avenue on the west and the 60 Freeway on the north. Rob Searcy presented the project's site plan and elevations to the Commission to better illustrate the applicants proposal and the land uses surrounding the site. The main ingress and egress to the property will be off of Colima and the secondary entrance will be off of Banning Way. The project6fronts onto Colima 275 feet, Lemon 500 feet and Banning Way 400 feet. The property is surrounded by commercial and residential. Landscaping is reQui ' 'red with the condition that any landscaping plans must be submitted'to the City Forestry and Maintenance Director. 1!1 The meeting was opened for Public Hearing Gary Shohama, representing the applicant, lives in Hacienda Heights. The owner wants to be part of enhancing Diamond Bar, that is why he is proposing a high-quality motel not a truck stop. The zone change is consistent with the location and the Community Plan. This is the only parcel that is zoned for Agricultural, the entire strip along Colima on that side of the street, down to Cocos is commercial. The development provides for 173 parking spaces which is 73 spaces in excess to what is required by code. The landscaping plan calls for 22 percent of the lot to be landscaped which is more than required. The developer 'plans to keep as much of the existing landscaping as possible. This project is away from the other major projects in the community so it does not have as much of an impact on traffic as other projects. The applicant feels that there is enough restaurants down the street and that there is not a need for them to provide another coffee shop or restaurant on this site. Instead, they would like to reduce the 4,300 square foot pad to 3,200 and turn this into a conference room which will be made available to the community and the patrons of the motel for their use. This will provide more space for parking 10 777777'_ "IT17 Discussion between the applicant and the Commission followed. Mr. Arozynski advised the Commission on their rights pertaining to redesigning a project. Members of the Audience in Favor of the Project: There were none Members of the Audience Opposed to the Project: Sunny Martindale, 1333 Rapidview Drive, Diamond Bar, was concerned with a hotel going in at this site because there are two schools, an elementary school next to the site and a middle school 3 blocks away. The children will have to pass by this motel on their way to school. She 1 was concerned with this project deteriorating within a few years and becoming an undesirable development. She was also concerned with they cliental of a motel presenting a potential danger to the children passing by. Art Fritz, 20635 Markstay Street, Dic-imond Bar, was also concerned with the traffic problem. -I'nere have been a few accidents in this area and this projects presents 'a potential hazard to the children coming and going to school. Dan Silviesky, 1248 S. Lemon Avenue, Diamond Bar, pointed out some things he felt were a problem with this project. This motel is on a smaller parcel than the hotel that was previously denied, if that was a problem 'he felt this would also be a problem. The school cross walk is a problem. There are many children that cross that intersection and there have already been several accidents at this area. Safety was his main concern. Bob Martindale, 1333 Rapidview Drive, Diamond Bar, testified in opposition of the project. Curtis Henry, 1208 S. Lemon Avenue, Diamond Bar, concerned with the safety of his children and their privacy. 'Ray Howard, 1301 Willapa Lane, Diamond Bar, was concerned with how this project would affect the property values of the surrounding properties and didn't feel this project was in the best interest of the Community. Mrs. Martindale, -added that there is a serious trafficproblem with 18 wheelers parking along Colima and Lemon. These obstruct the view of other drivers and have been the cause of a few accidents. The Commission asked the applicant to address the traffic problem more extensively. Houey Li, the project traffic engineer, stated that during the heaviest traffic hour they have estimated 1 or 2 cars per minute. In comparison with other types of commercial development, motel use will generate the least amount of traffic. He took traffic counts for intersection of Colima and Lemon and presently it is operating on a "B" level of service. Engineers classify the conditions of intersections into six (6) different categories starting from "A" level of service, which is the best service with very light traffic, to and "F" level of service, which is grid -lock. He has prepared a striping plan which will modify the one way left turn lane onto Banning Way to accommodate a two-way left turn lane. The peak motel traffic doesn't, for the most part, coincide with the peak commuter traffic on Colima. Gary Shohama gave some closing remarks. This project is not going to generate the kind of traffic that the citizens are concerned with. The traffic problem is already existing, this project is not going to have much of an impact on that. He also addressed the citizens concerns about the potential danger the patrons of a motel on, the children in the area. There is a liquor store that the children pass by that presents the same danger. The owner of the motel will do his best to insure and monitor the safety of the Children. The Public Hearing was closed. Discussion among the Commission regarding possibilities of address the traffic problem followed. Motion was made by Commissioner Grothe and seconded by Vice Chairman Harmony to approve Zone Change 89555 but require the site plan and other issues to be brought back before the Commission on May 14, 1990. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. 4. Zone Change/Conditional Use Permit 89-075, a request for zone change from R1 (Single Family Residence) to C3 (Unlimited Commercial) to develop an office and retail center consisting of a 3 -story building containing 21,000 sq. ft, of floor area, with parking and landscaping, located at 21008 Lycoming Street, southeasterly corner of Lycoming and Brea Canyon Road. Commissioner Grothe stepped down due to the fact that this project, presented a conflict of interest. IN Ilh II 7717=7 `.' .�- Rob Searcy presented the project's site plan and elevations to the Commission to better illuotrate the applicants proposal and the land uses surrounding the site. The property to the south is Light Manufacturing, to the north is Multiple Family Residential, to the north also there is a C2 -BE zone, an A# PM mini -mart, manufacturing planned development, single family dwelling and a child day-care facility. The site is approximately 1 1/2 acres and would have only one access which would be on Lyooming Street. The parking provided by the project would be about 71 spaces. Ten (10) percent landscaping is required. The applicant was not present. The meeting was opened for Public Hearing Members of the Audience in Favor of the Project: Den Buffington, 2806 Indian Creek, Diamond Bar, wasn't really speaking in favor of this particular project nor for the zone to be changed to C3, but felt that this site should be zoned for commercial instead of residential. Members of the Audience Qpnoaed to the Project; / Joe Hahn, 826 1/2 Silver Fir Road, Diamond Bar, was opposed ^ to the noise, lights, loss of privacy, and traffic problem that would be created by this project. Janice Roller, Windwood Drive, restated concern for traffic. The Public Hearing was closed. Discussion among the Oomm1oo1pn followed. Motion was made by Chairman Sohey and seconded by Vice Chairman Harmony to deny Zona Change and Conditional Use Permit 89-075. It was determined by the Commission that this � project would be inconsistent with the surrounding zoning and Community Plan. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. DISCUSSION ITEMS: The Commission decided to continue the Development Review Ordinance � and the Art in Public Places presentation to the next meeting. | |� ANNOUNCEMENTS: � There were none. r � 13 | � ! � ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Commission, Motion was made by Vice Chairman Harmony and seconded by CommiaaionmrQrothe, and carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 12:30 a.m. to the next regularly schedule meeting of March 12, 1990 to be held at the Walnut Valley Unified School District Board ATTEST: Dennis A. Tarango Secretary, Planning Commission 14 David Schay Chairman